Finally
by vic.loz.sccsaint
Summary: His life flashed before his eyes as he watched her fall in front of him. Do they get a second chance to make things right? Can they finally have happily ever after? *SPOILERS for the triple crossover (based on promo) - SVU, Chicago Fire and PD*


**A/n: Hey y'all! I know I haven't posted in a long time. Started my freshman year of college and my program is crazy busy with work! I watched the promo for the triple crossover like 3 times today, and after the last time this story popped into my head. This story does contain spoilers in case you haven't been trolling the internet for information or haven't seen the promo yet. Hope you enjoy and please review! They make me a better writer! **

**Disclaimer: Of course I don't own this amazing universe that is Chicago Fire, PD and SVU! That honour is Dick Wolf's alone and _man_ is he a genius!**

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><p>He had been sitting in the waiting room for 4 hours now. 4 hours since his partner, best friend, and the love of his life had been shot in a freak accident as they were taking down the suspect. They had been working with the Special Victims Unit from New York for the past week since Firehouse 51 had responded to a call resulting in an insane child prostitution ring being uncovered. This case had been so big, it spanned two states and required the teams to join forces.<p>

Sergeant Benson from SVU had had to fight the gun out of the suspect's hand, and nobody had realized it went off until Benson asked Erin if she was okay when she saw her grab her side. Jay's world had stopped and he couldn't breathe as he saw her pull her hand away and see the blood coating it. It had been a reflex reaction to run over to her and catch her as she collapsed on the ground.

The rest of what had happened had been a blur and all he could remember was climbing into the back of the ambo with her and holding her hand as tightly as possible until they got to the hospital and told him he couldn't go any further with her. Thankfully Sgt. Benson had followed them to the hospital and called Voight so he didn't have to be the one to tell Erin's pseudo-father what had happened and how nothing had been done to stop it from happening.

In the four hours Jay had been sitting in the waiting room, he had jumped from guilt, to fear, to anger, to panic and all the way around the cycle again and again. When Benson had come back with a coffee and some bad cafeteria food, Jay had barely even registered what he was doing or eating. All his thoughts had been in the OR with his partner and he hadn't stopped worrying since they had whisked her away from him.

"Family of Erin Lindsay?" the doctor called, pulling Jay out of his inner musings and sending his worry level back through the roof.

Voight, Benson, and Jay all stood and walked the little ways towards the doctor. "The surgery went well. Luckily the bullet didn't hit any major organs, but it did graze her liver as well as her gall bladder causing a minor leak of bile into her abdomen. We had to remove her gall bladder and stitched up the graze of the liver. Thankfully Miss Lindsay will be able to live a completely normal life without her gall bladder, but will have to watch what types of foods she eats for the first little while," the doctor explained.

Jay looked up at the ceiling and finally let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding since he caught Erin in the middle of the street. Voight reached over and clasped his shoulder, understanding the relief Jay felt considering Erin was family to them.

"When can we see her?" Voight asked the doctor.

"Actually," the doctor started, "Miss Lindsay woke up quite quickly from the anesthesia and has been asking for a Jay Halstead."

Jay jerked his head back to stare at the doctor. _Erin had requested to see him and not Voight? Why would she do something like that when he is like her dad?_

"She is in room 346 and may be a little groggy from the pain meds," the doctor said as he shook Voight, Benson and Jay's hands.

"Thanks doc," Voight said as the doctor walked away.

"I'm going to go call my team and let them know that Erin's alright and see how it's going there," Benson said, clasping Voight and Jay on their shoulders before walking off.

Voight turned to Jay, and he braced himself for the possible out lash he may get from Voight for being the one Erin wanted to see. "Look Halstead, I'm not going to ball you out or get mad and scream just because Erin wants to see you," the rough-edged Sergeant started. "All I am going to ask is that you guys keep it professional at work, you take care of her and make her happy. She means the world to me and if anything happens to her that you could have prevented, there won't be a safe place for you to hide in all of Illinois. Got it?"

Jay just stared at Voight. He wasn't sure if his boss was kidding or not, and he didn't want to take advantage of the situation in case his boss didn't actually mean what he was saying. After all, Voight was pretty unpredictable.

Seeing the bewildered look on Jay's face, Voight broke out in a rare smile. "See," he began, "I know you love her. And I know that deep down, even if she doesn't want to admit it, she loves you too. I know that out of all choices for a man she loves, you are one of the best ones. I know I haven't been open to in-house romance, but I'm not blind and I have been married before. I know what it's like to love someone and when you are faced with the possibility of them not being there anymore, it's like your world crashes down around you. I respect you, Jay, and I know that you will take care of her. So do me a favour, and tell her that you love her because I know Erin, and I can guarantee her answer may just be what you're hoping for."

With his piece being said, Voight walked away from Jay in the opposite direction of the elevators. Jay knew he would be back later to see Erin, and Jay's respect for the man he called boss grew. With one finale look in the direction Voight walked off in, Jay made his way to the elevators.

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><p>As the doors opened up onto the floor Erin was going to be one for a few days, Jay felt his worry and anxiety for his partner and love grow. He knew Erin was strong, but he couldn't help but worry about her. Especially when Voight gave him permission to love her and protect her and worry about her.<p>

When he got to her room, Jay had to stop at the door and take a deep breath. _It's still Erin in there, she's just a little banged up at the moment. You love her, so be there for her_. When he opened her door and took a look at the woman he loved laying on the bed, he couldn't help but gasp at the sight of her. She looked so weak and pale wrapped in the crisp, white hospital sheets, but through it all, she was still his beautiful, strong, stubborn Erin.

Jay walked over to her bedside and took a hold of her hand, being careful of the IV tube and oxygen monitor that were attached to it. The slight movement and squeezing of her hand caused Erin to wake up from the small nap she had been taking. The sight of her partner sitting next to her looking so worried and concerned for her made her heart skip a beat.

"Hey," she rasped, her voice still kind of dry from the surgery.

"Hey, yourself," Jay replied quietly. "You gave me a hell of a scare today, Lindsay."

"Gave myself a hell of a scare too. Doc came in already and said I should be good to leave this place in a few days. Four tops. He told me I'm lucky that the bullet didn't do more damage," Erin said, feeling Jay squeeze her hand tighter as she reiterated to him what she had been told not long ago.

Jay took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to say, and what her reaction may be. "Erin, when you fell into my arms after you got shot today, I saw my own life flash before my eyes. Seeing you laying on that stretcher getting paler and paler as you kept bleeding, made me realize that I should have told you a long time ago how I felt, and that if I didn't get the chance to, I wouldn't know how to move on or get past it. As I sat in that waiting room and the hours ticked by without any news, all the possible scenarios of what could happen were playing through my head. I just kept praying and pleading with any higher power for you to make it through so I could tell you that I love you and can't imagine my life without you. And I get it if you don't feel the same, but I just needed to tell you and get it off my chest," Jay finished with tears in his eyes.

He knew that if she didn't feel the same way, he would be able to move past this and start fresh because he wouldn't be weighed down with the feelings he had. At the same time, his head and his heart both hurt because he knew that she could possibly love him back, yet she could tell him that she only saw him as her partner. The whole situation was almost too much for Jay, but he had to hear what she had to say. He needed to know where to go from there.

"Jay, you know that we wouldn't be able to—" Erin started.

"Don't say we can't be together because of Voight because he told me not 20 minutes ago that he would be fine with us being together. He knows I love you and he told me that all he wants for you is someone who makes you happy, loves you and can protect you. He said that as long as we keep it professional at work, he would be okay with it," Jay rushed out, interrupting what Erin was going to say.

Erin just smiled at Jay as he looked down at the floor, not wanting to meet her eyes. "Well, I guess I should tell you then that as I was falling to the ground earlier, I was so scared that I wasn't going to make it. All I could think about was not seeing Hank or Justin and Olive again, and not being able to meet my niece or nephew. I couldn't bear the thought of that, or the thought of never working in Intelligence again with all the guys. And, as much I was thinking all of this, my biggest thought was that I would never be able to tell you that I love you," Erin said, watching as Jay's head shot up, his eyes widened and he got a big grin across his face.

"You really mean that?" Jay asked, kind of stunned that she loved him back.

"I do. All I could think was that I would never be able to tell you I love you, or that you are the most important person in my life. All I could think was that we never got our chance and I didn't open up like I should have. I love you so much Jay and I can't imagine a future without you in it," Erin said, her eyes tearing up as she grinned a big, bright smile at Jay.

The smile on Jay's face only grew as he took in Erin's words. Without hesitation, he got up from the chair he was sitting in and moved closer to Erin's bedside. He lightly cupped her face, his grin even wider, and leaned in as he stared into her gorgeous hazel eyes. Erin grinned back at him and leaned into him. As their lips met, they both let out a happy, content sigh as they softly kissed.

After what seemed like an eternity of just the two of them, Jay pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. The smile that graced both of their faces was enough to light up the entire room as they felt nothing but happiness.

"I love you," Erin whispered, gazing into Jay's crystal blue eyes that she adored.

"I love you so much," Jay whispered back, his grin never leaving his face.

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><p>Hours later, when Voight finally returned to the hospital, he was greeted upon entering Erin's room by the sight of Jay lying on his back with Erin curled around him, both fast asleep. After pulling out his phone and snapping a picture to send to the entire team later, Voight walked out of the hospital room, content knowing that no matter what the two young detectives faced in the future, they would be doing it together, always covering the other's back.<p> 


End file.
